Alaska APA: January 2009

Sunday, January 11, 2009

What do we blog about?

Wondering what to blog about? Here are 10 ideas to get the creative juices flowing.

1. APA exam study techniques
2. How to work "smart growth" techniques into a rural environment
3. land bank...can we have our wetlands like this?
4. how do I get more involved with APA
5. Who's going to the National Convention?
6. Looking for someone experienced in creating green infrastructure plans
7. Planning book reviews
8. multimedia tools and how they can help with public participation
9. Invitation: presenter from lower 48-every one welcome
10. Regional Transit Authority, how do we form one?

I hope this helps to think of issues or ideas you may want to post!

Welcome!

Welcome to the AK APA blog. My name is Lauren Kruer and I am the "blog mistress". My job is to keep on eye on the blog; I handle technical issues, insure that the content remains appropriate, and answer any question you many have regarding the blog. Besides being the "blog mistress" I am also a planner for the Matanuska Susitna Borough.

The goal in setting up this blog to allow a place for AK planner to network. I am sure each of you can think of a time when a room full of planners from around the state helping you discuss and resolve an issue would have been a life saver. Well, getting us all on one room is hard since we live is this mega sized state of ours but....we can get together in a virtual type room right here on the blog. I envision the blog being a different tool for different users but, that is what makes it great....blogs are not one size fits all...and this is just our first try. Please contact me and let me know how I can make this blog better and more user friendly for you. Enjoy!

About the Alaska APA Chapter

The Alaska Chapter is a state chapter of the American Planning Association (APA) serving Alaska. APA is a nonprofit public interest and research organization committed to urban, suburban, regional, and rural planning. APA and its professional institute, the American Institute of Certified Planners, advance the art and science of planning to meet the needs of people and society. The Alaska Chapter gets you involved in APA close to home. The chapter serves as your local source for networking and professional development. When you join APA, you automatically become a member of your local chapter. The Chapter holds an annual conference, educational workshops, assists with AICP exam preparation, and produces a newsletter. The Alaska chapter also conducts legislative programs, sponsors planning commissioner training workshops, and assists with public information campaigns.

For more information visit: www.alaskaplanning.org

How to Use the Blog

A blog is a "website in the form of an online journal, with new entries appearing in sequence as they are written, especially as dealing with reflections or opinion, and typically incorporating links to other articles."( Wiktionary)

The AK APA Blog is set up with the purpose of being an interactive and informative environment. With Alaskas' immence size, sprawling gepgraphy, and chaning populations we planners need a way to communicate as a community. Useing the blog is a simple to open up topics for discussion and share information with your fellow planners. Use the sub-section below for direction on the various action used when blogging.

Comment on a Posting: If you would like to respond/comment on a posting click the blue lettering below the post that reads, "comments #" The number sign will reflect the number of comments. Upon clicking the blue letter the comment window will appear. You may choose to read comments or post a comment. If you are looking to respond then click, "post comment."

Reviewing Comments: Have you posted a topic and want to see if anyone has responded. Follow the steps above under " comment on posting" and then click the button that says, : review comments."

Subscribe to the blog: If you would like an e-mail letting you know when new posts have been made to the blog then subscribe to the blog. At the bottom of the page in blue lettering there is the phrase: "Subscribe to: post comments."

New Post: If you would like to start a new topic click on the new post button, located in the upper right hand corner of the screen. This will open up a diolouge box. The box looks much like an outlook e-mail window. Type your text, feel free to use the tool box located above the text window. The tool box has spell check, text color, bold, and italic fonts. Once you have complete your text hit the orange publish button.

Rules for Responsible Blogging

6 Rules for Responsible Blogging

excerpts taken from:
http://blog.sponsoredreviews.com/?p=40
Wrtten By: Daniel Scocco

1. Check your facts: technology makes it incredibly easy to produce and share content nowadays. The result is that information is spreading like fire through social networks, bookmarking sites and blogs. Unfortunately we are talking about both correct and incorrect information. Make sure to check your facts before publishing posts or articles, else you might not only look dumb, but also misinform and damage other people.

2. Respect Copyright Law: people wrongly associate online content with public domain content. Did you know that every published material is copyrighted even if it does not show a copyright notice? More importantly, even if you remove the copyrighted content after the author contacts you the copyright infringement will still exist. Learn the basics of the Copyright Law to avoid costly mistakes (you can read more about it on the article “12 Do’s and Dont’s of the Copyright Law”).

3. Consider the implications: as mentioned before information on the Internet spreads like fire. Consider the implications of what you write, and remember that once you hit “Publish” you will immediately lose control over those words. The Kathy Sierra case is a good example, maybe what was supposed to be a joke (even if a quite harsh one) ended up damaging her career and arousing a discussion on the whole blogosphere.

4. Control the comments: anything that is published on your blog is your responsibility; that means that you should control not only the information that you include on the posts and articles but also what your readers add through the comments. First of all you could create a comment policy and attach a link to the comment form. This will ensure that readers are aware of what they can and can not say in a comment. You can check an example of a comment policy on Problogger.net.

5. Give credit where credit is due: always reference your sources. If you do not want to mention an external website on your content just add a link at the end of the post saying “Via: Reference.com”. This practice is not only important under an ethical point of view, but it also ensures that readers can eventually dig to the root of the facts. Secondly even if you are using free templates or open source software like Wordpress make sure to credit the authors.

6. Disclose professional relationships: if you work for a company or institution disclose it on the “About” page. Explicitly declare that the views expressed on the blog are yours and not the ones from your employer (unless you are blogging for that employer, obviously). A good example of such disclosure can be seen on TechCrunch. Check the bottom of the “About” page and you will see that Michael Arrington discloses all the companies that he participates or has invested in.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

What do we blog about?

Welcome!

Contact

About the Alaska APA Chapter

How to Use the Blog

Rules for Responsible Blogging

Followers

Blog Archive